


Shut Up and Wink at Me

by kikikryslee



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Athlete Harry, First Kiss, Fluff, Football Player Harry, Hate to Love, M/M, Oblivious Louis, Pining, Smart Louis, Stereotypes, shocker there I know, sort of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-23
Updated: 2017-05-23
Packaged: 2018-11-03 21:02:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10975278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kikikryslee/pseuds/kikikryslee
Summary: “Did you get your housing information yet?” Louis asked.Harry pursed his lips. “Yeah. So?”“So? So it looks like we’re going to be roommates. Don’t you think we should know each other a little bit?”“We’ve gone to the same schools since Kindergarten. I already know you.”“Yeah, but we’re not like, friends,” Louis said.“Ouch.” Harry pretended to be hurt, holding a hand over his heart. “That stings, Louis.”Louis rolled his eyes. “Look, I would like to know at least something about you before I live with you for an entire school year.”“What do you suggest?”“I don’t know,” Louis said. “I guess just like, hang out and make sure we’re compatible?”“You make it sound like we’re going on a blind date.”“Trust me; we’re fucking not.”“Again, ouch.”---Or, the one where Louis wants to go away to college to get away from everything having to do with his hometown. So when he finds out his roommate will be Harry Styles, perfect school athlete and the exact opposite of what Louis wants in a roommate, he's not happy about it.





	Shut Up and Wink at Me

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome! This is the fic that I never thought I would write. I struggled with the plot of it for so long, and of course, figured it out just a week before the deadline.  
> Thank you so much to [Michelle](https://temporaryfixlouis.tumblr.com/) for being such a quick beta and to [Sam](http://you-bring-me-home.tumblr.com/) for reading over my story and telling me that it wasn't awful! I appreciate it so much!  
> I hope you all enjoy!

**Roommate: Harry Styles**

“There has to be some sort of mistake.”

Louis read the name on the paper he’d received in the mail and couldn’t believe his eyes. But there it was, in solid black ink, making Louis wonder if he truly was the unluckiest high school senior to walk the face of the earth.

He’d gotten home from school about five minutes ago and immediately ripped open the letter from Hammonton University, the college he would be calling his own in about four months. The letter had the information on his roommate, something Louis had been eager to know since he received his acceptance letter in January.

As valedictorian of his class, Louis had gotten accepted to every school he had applied to, and had a big choice to make when it came to college. He’d chosen Hammonton because, at nearly three hours away from home, he would receive the full ‘college experience,’ that of living away from home with a random roommate, not knowing anyone on campus and being forced to either make friends or be a literal hermit for at least four years. Hammonton also had a brilliant Pre-Med program, and, as a future pediatrician, Louis only wanted the best.

Louis was never wrong, so he trusted his choice in schools. But now that he was looking at who his roommate would be, he realized there really was a first time for everything. His roommate would be someone he actually knew, probably the only other student from Bilson High School. He squeezed his eyes shut, hoping that when he opened them, this would all be the first part of a horrible nightmare.

\---

The next morning, Louis sat in homeroom as someone read out the morning announcements over the loudspeaker. Whatever was being said was just background noise for Louis, who started tuning everything out after he heard the Pledge of Allegiance.

He’d gone to bed so late last night after trying to figure out what to do about the whole Harry thing. He thought about contacting the school and requesting a switch, but he didn’t know how that would work if the school year hadn’t even started yet. He suspected that they would just tell him to try living with Harry before contacting them again for a new roommate. And that was something that Louis just could not do. Thanks to the school newspaper, and general word of mouth from his peers, Louis knew Harry would be going to Hammonton on a football scholarship. That meant hearing Harry’s alarm at 4 a.m. so he could get up for practice, the room constantly smelling like a gym, obnoxiously loud teammates coming over at all hours of the day and, most likely, parties all the time.

That would most definitely _not_ make for a productive environment for Louis, who would need a peaceful, quiet room in order to get his studying done. That vision didn’t fit well with Harry, who, as a proud Bilson Bulldog, could frequently be found barking in the hallways.

It wasn’t going to end well.

Even if Hammonton did get Louis a new roommate, _he_ would probably have to be the one to change dorms, while Harry would get to stay in the one they were originally assigned.

Unless he got Harry to want a new roommate. Louis was sure he could be obnoxious enough to get Harry to hate him so much he would want to live anywhere else. Louis was rather skilled in the art of pushing someone’s buttons.

But there was always the last option, and also the one he would probably have to try: get to know Harry and try to make it work out for the year as roommates. Despite going through all of the same schools together, Louis didn’t know much about Harry, just that he was an athlete who went to so many parties that there had been a new rumor about him nearly every Monday this entire school year. The number of those rumors that were actually true was unknown to Louis, but if even half of them were, then Louis was in trouble.

But Harry was popular. He had a lot of friends and teachers really liked him. There had to be at least one redeeming quality about him that Louis didn’t know that would make him a tolerable roommate.

And then, like a demon being summoned, in walked Harry himself: the charming football and track star of Bilson High School who probably wanted to be a professional athlete. He was also an all-around annoyance, if Louis was being honest.

And he was late, but despite that, he came strolling in like it was no big deal.

“Mr. Styles, do you have a late pass?” their teacher, Miss Miller, asked.

“No, Miss Miller, I don’t,” Harry said. “I’m really sorry, but I was with Coach Robbins, going over what else we need for the training camp in two weeks.”

Every year, the football team hosted a training camp for the community. It was held in the football stadium, and team members ran practice drills with small groups of younger, local kids. There were also other activities, like face painting, balloon animals and carnival games. They charged admission, and the profits were split between the football team and a charity of the quarterback’s – Harry’s – choice. This year, the charity would be St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.

It was a great event, and they always raised a lot of money, which was why Miss Miller just smiled and excused Harry for being late.

Louis rolled his eyes.

“Have a seat, Harry.”

“Sure thing. Thanks, Miss Miller,” Harry said sweetly.

Unfortunately, Harry had to walk down Louis’ aisle to get to his seat in the back of the room. Louis had his left leg stretched out into the aisle, and when Harry reached it, he stared at it as if his eyes alone could get it to move.

When that didn’t work, Harry shifted his gaze to Louis’ face. Louis returned the look, and the two of them just stared at each other for a minute.

Harry eventually raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me.”

Louis begrudgingly moved his foot under his desk so Harry could get by.

“Thanks,” Harry muttered as he walked past him, taking his seat.

Louis heard him immediately begin talking to someone, probably Liam, his teammate on the football team.

Louis sighed. How was he going to make this work?

\---

The next day, after the final bell rang, Louis closed his locker so he could head to the parking lot and drive home. He walked down the flight of stairs nearest to him and when he exited the stairwell, he saw Harry at his own locker, halfway down the hallway. There weren’t many people around, and Harry seemed to just be double-checking to see if he had everything he needed.

Louis watched him, wondering if he should go up to Harry and talk to him about the whole roommate situation. The worst that could happen would be Harry laughing in his face and walking away from him. Louis wasn’t sure what the best-case scenario would be.

Unfortunately, Louis spent a little too much time staring, because as Harry shut his locker, he saw Louis standing there.

“You need something?” Harry asked.

Louis straightened up. “Um… Yeah.”

Harry raised his eyebrows and leaned against his locker. “OK…?”

Louis hesitated, not sure how to start, but figured he might as well just be up front about it. “Fuck it,” he said, walking closer to Harry. “Did you get your housing information from Hammonton yet?”

Harry pursed his lips. “Yeah. So?”

“So? So it looks like we’re going to be roommates. Don’t you think we should know each other a little bit?”

“We’ve gone to the same schools since Kindergarten. I already know you.”

“Yeah, but we’re not like, friends,” Louis said.

“Ouch.” Harry pretended to be hurt, holding a hand over his heart. “That stings, Louis.”

Louis rolled his eyes. “Seriously, though. I don’t think we’ve ever hung out before, so what do we really know about each other?”

Harry thought it over before shrugging. “Don’t know. Not like we have to be best friends to be roommates at college.”

“I know that, but I would like to know at least something about you before I live with you for an entire school year.”

“I guess that’s fair. What do you suggest?”

“I don’t know,” Louis said. “I guess just like, hang out and make sure we’re compatible together?”

“You make it sound like we’re going on a blind date.”

“Trust me; we’re fucking not.”

“Again, ouch.”

“You want to do this or not?” Louis asked, his voice in a very irritated tone.

“I guess. How long will it take?”

“Gee, make me feel like you give a rat’s ass.”

“Not what I meant,” Harry said. “It’s just that I have a track meet in an hour and I’m sort of supposed to be down in the locker room like, now.”

“Oh. Um, no, it doesn’t have to be today.”

“Unless you want to come watch my meet. I wouldn’t mind the cheering section.” Harry added with a wink.

Louis snorted. “No. Tomorrow? We can talk after school or something?”

“That’s fine. I’ll meet you at the benches out near the parking lot after the last bell.”

“Sounds good.”

“All right. I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

Harry turned and hurried off toward the locker rooms to get changed for his meet.

Louis let out a sigh. This might not be so bad, after all.

\---

Wrong again. This was a disaster. The last bell had rung ten minutes ago, and Louis had no idea where Harry was. He really hoped Harry hadn’t forgotten that they were supposed to meet today. Maybe getting his head knocked around in his football helmet so many times had messed up his memory.

And Louis didn’t have Harry’s number, either, so he couldn’t text him and ask where he was. He decided to wait a few more minutes before just heading home for the weekend.

Exactly four minutes later, Louis stood up, intending to leave. So of course, that’s when the side door to the high school opened, and Harry and three of his teammates came strolling out.

“Quick, guys, who am I?” one of the boys, Chris, asked. He took a few steps away from the others and then jumped. When he landed, he pretended to fall and rolled over onto his back.

The boys burst into laughter, actually bending over and slapping their knees.

“That’s what happens when you try to talk shit on our team,” Harry said once they quieted down. “Karma gets you and knocks you flat on your ass.”

“Yeah, that’ll show him to talk like his school actually has any talent,” said Greg, another of Harry’s teammates. “And it’s his fault his team came in last, so now what can he say?”

Harry nudged the last guy, Scott, on the shoulder. They looked at each other before both of them said, “Can’t say shit!” Then all four of them started laughing again.

 _I must’ve missed the joke,_ Louis thought to himself.

As they laughed, the boys started walking, and Harry finally looked over and saw Louis standing there with an unimpressed look on his face.

His eyes widened, and he stuttered out something to his friends. “Hey guys, I’ll see you later. I’m over this way.”

The other boys said goodbye and headed to their respective cars.

Harry at least had the decency to look guilty. “Hey.”

“You’re late,” Louis said instead of a greeting.

“I know. I’m sorry. The guys found me when I was coming out so I just walked out with them. I didn’t realize it was-” He checked his watched and grimaced. “Fifteen minutes. Sorry.”

“Whatever.”

“Um, do you want to sit?” Harry gestured toward the bench they were in front of. “I mean, we’re both here. We might as well actually talk.”

“Sure.”

They both sat down, facing each other. Neither of them knew where to start.

Harry cleared his throat. “So, how are you?”

“Fine.”

“Same. Nice, uh, weather we’re having.”

“You know this isn’t actually a blind date, right?” Louis asked.

“You’re the one who wants to sit here and check if we’re ‘compatible’! I need to break the ice somehow.”

“Yes, compatible as roommates. Like, what time does your alarm go off in the morning? How often will you be partying? How much time will you actually spend in the dorm?”

“We’ve known each other since we were five! That’s thirteen years! You’ve seen me eat glitter, and not just in Kindergarten. Like, what else do you really need to know?”

“Apparently nothing, if you’re not even going to take this seriously. I should’ve just left; I don’t know why I bothered to wait for you.”

Louis started to stand up, but Harry pushed him back down. “OK, OK, don’t get your panties in a twist.”

“Funny.”

“I thought so.” Harry smirked. “But fine, if you really want to do this, I guess we should begin with the basic question. What’s your major?”

Louis sighed, but answered the question. “I’m pre-med.”

“Oh.”

“Oh? Is that a problem?”

“No,” Harry told him. “It’s just, um… Never mind.”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“Seriously, what?”

“Nothing!”

“Yeah? And what are you majoring in?” Louis asked sarcastically. “Communications, I guess? So you can be a sports announcer if the whole football thing doesn’t work out?”

Harry rolled his eyes. “I’m double majoring, actually. Politics and journalism.”

Louis had to process that one. “Did- did you say politics?”

Harry nodded. “Yeah, I’d love to be a political journalist one day. I’ll play football, yeah, but that’s really just for the scholarship. I’m not looking to go to the Super Bowl any time soon.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really.”

“Oh. Well, do you want to be on television? Or a print journalist?”

“Haven’t decided yet,” Harry said. “I guess we’ll see how I feel after a few semesters. It depends on what I’m more comfortable with, I suppose.”

“Well, you could probably go join Fox News. They seem to be coming up with some openings.”

“Yeah, that’s true. I definitely could go there.”

“Seriously?”

Harry snorted. “Fuck, no. Those people are all awful. I’d dislocate my own shoulder before joining that staff.”

“Oh. OK. Good.”

Harry examined Louis closely before speaking again. “You seem surprised.”

“About what?”

“About my career plans… Doc.”

“No, I’m not surprised, I’m just, um… I didn’t expect that. That’s all.”

Harry raised an unimpressed eyebrow. “You realize that’s what ‘surprised’ means, right? That you don’t expect something. Wow, maybe you should be the journalism major.”

“Shut up,” Louis said grumpily.

“Sorry my answer wasn’t as predictable as yours.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Louis asked.

“Maybe you should take some linguistics classes. You don’t seem to understand basic words.”

“Shut _up_.”

“It _means_ ,” Harry started, “that the valedictorian wanting to be a doctor is a little boring and is something I would totally expect. Don’t you have any other interests?”

“What’s wrong with wanting to help sick kids?” Louis wanted to know. “Seriously, how you have something against my career choice is mind-boggling.”

“I don’t have anything against your career choice,” Harry replied, his voice starting to get louder. “I’m just saying that it was easy to see coming. Like, oh, the smartest kid in our class is going to be a doctor. The only thing less interesting would be if you wanted to be a lawyer.”

“And what if I wanted to be a lawyer? Why is that a bad thing?”

Harry took a deep breath. “For someone so smart, you’re not good at the whole comprehension thing. I’m not saying it’s bad for you to be a doctor, just that anyone could see that coming. It would’ve been more surprising if you said you wanted to be a model or a pianist or something.”

“How did you know I play the piano?” Louis asked.

Harry stared. “This has to be like the third time I’ve said this, but… we’ve gone to the same school since Kindergarten.”

“Oh. Right.”

“Yeah. Right. Look, this has been… _thrilling,_ but I have to go. I’ll see you on Monday.”

Harry stood up and grabbed his book bag. As he walked away, he said, “By the way, you noticed I also said you could’ve been a model, right?”

Louis frowned as Harry walked away, trying to figure out what that had to do with anything.

\---

Niall caught Louis going to school on Monday morning, just as he walked inside the building.

“So what’s this I hear about you talking to Styles in the parking lot after school on Friday?” Niall asked, slinging his arm around Louis’ neck.

“What?”

“Yeah, everybody’s talking about it.”

Louis rolled his eyes. Harry’s teammates must’ve said something and it spread like wildfire.

“So what’s the deal?” Niall asked.

They reached Louis’ locker and Louis figured he might as well be honest with his best friend.

“OK, so…” Louis started. “I got my housing information for Hammonton last week.”

“Oh, yeah? What’d you get? And what does this have to do with Harry?”

“Well, I’m in the freshman dorm, which is cool. But, uh, Harry’s my roommate.”

Niall paused. “Excuse me? Can you repeat that last part?”

“I said, Harry’s my roommate. At Hammonton.”

“You’re kidding.”

“No, I’m really not,” Louis said.

“But that’s impossible! You chose Hammonton to get _away_ from everyone here. There’s no way your roommate is someone you know.”

“Trust me, it’s definitely his name on my paper. And he has my name on his, so…”

“Can you call someone about that?” Niall asked.

“I did when I got home on Friday. They said there was nothing they could do since we don’t actually go to the school yet. Plus, in the case of roommates who want to switch dorms, they always make them go through mediation with someone to see if they can work out the problems. So since I had no proof of actual conflict or mediation, they can’t change anything. But if we move in, and then I realize that I can’t bear to live with him, that’s when they can step in.”

“Is that why you were talking to him on Friday? To get to know him?”

“Pretty much,” Louis said.

“That sucks.”

“Who are you telling?”

They looked up at the ceiling as a bell went off, signaling that there were two more minutes until homeroom.

“I need to head upstairs,” Niall said. “I’ll see you at lunch.”

“Yeah.”

Louis grabbed his books and slammed his locker shut. Then he made his way into homeroom.

As he walked in, he heard, “Hey, roomie!”

He shot an annoyed glance toward the back of the room where Harry sat, smirking. A few people around him were looking at him strangely before glancing over at Louis.

Louis scowled and took his seat, not paying Harry any more attention.

\---

“Hey, did you hear about the mathematician who’s afraid of negative numbers?” Jade asked everyone at the table at lunch that day.

Louis shook his head, and so did Stan, Niall and Perrie.

“He’ll stop at _nothing_ to avoid them,” Jade said, delivering the punch line.

Louis and Perrie laughed at the joke, while Stan and Niall frowned. Louis gave them a minute to think it over, not wanting to immediately explain it.

Suddenly, the light bulb went off.

“Oh, I get it!” Niall said. “Because nothing is like zero, and it’s only negative numbers past zero, so you have to… stop.”

Louis smiled. “Yeah, Ni. That’s it.”

“Shut up, Valedictorian. I’m still graduating in the top twenty, you know.”

“I know you are.”

The five of them jumped when they heard a loud noise at the other side of the table. They looked to see Harry grinning, his lunch tray dropped to their table. His friend Liam stood just behind him, still holding his tray and smiling kindly at them.

“So, I feel like we got off to a bad start,” Harry said, pulling over an empty chair.

Louis looked at his friends, who all looked just as confused as he was.

“What are you doing?” Louis asked.

“Sitting down for lunch,” Harry answered simply. He turned around and said, “Liam, sit down. Come on.”

Liam sighed and grabbed another chair from a nearby table before also taking a seat.

Louis looked across the lunchroom, where Harry usually sat. His friends were staring at them, as if it had been their idea to have Harry change tables in the middle of May.

“Hey, everyone,” Harry said. “I’m Harry.”

“We know,” Perrie told him. She leaned in a bit. “Um, you know Tutoring Club is after school and not during lunch, right?”

Louis snorted and attempted to stifle his laughter. Stan, Jade and Niall tried to do the same.

Liam looked like he was trying to keep his cool, but the tense lines around his mouth and eyes were giving him away. Harry, however, looked perfectly calm. In fact, he was smiling.

“Well, I never needed tutoring, so I didn’t know that, actually. But I’ll look into it, just in case. In the meantime, you might want to ask your parents to get you down to the hospital so they can pull that stick out of your ass.”

Perrie’s jaw dropped and everyone else at the table except for Liam looked appalled. Harry just winked and took a bite of his cheeseburger.

“You’re an asshole,” Stan said.

“You can’t talk to her like that,” Louis added.

“She started it,” Harry said with a mouth full of food.

“You really just said ‘she started it’? How old are you?”

“Just turned eighteen in February. I know, I’ve got such a baby face it’s hard to tell.”

“You have the maturity of a baby,” Jade muttered.

“And you all have the mentality of people who want to be first but can’t quite get there. How’s it feel to know that no matter you do, the highest in class rank you’ll ever be is second?”

This time it was Liam who was trying not to laugh too loudly at the five shocked faces around the table.

“Harry…” Louis warned.

“What?” he asked innocently. “It’s basic politics… _roomie._ ”

Louis glared at Harry as Jade asked, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh, Louis didn’t tell you the good news? I’ll tell you, then.”

“Harry, shut up,” Louis hissed.

“Louis and I are going to be roommates at Hammonton in the fall!” Harry told them enthusiastically. “Isn’t that great?”

“There’s no way _you’re_ going to Hammonton,” Stan said icily.

“Oh, but I am. Isn’t that right, Louis?”

Louis suddenly felt six sets of eyes on him. Reluctantly, he gave a stiff nod. Harry’s grin only grew when Louis’ friends loudly reacted.

“On that note,” Harry said above the noise, “I think we’ll be going now.”

He and Liam, who looked relieved to be heading back to his own table, stood up with their trays. Harry threw a wink at Louis as they walked away.

Louis sat in his seat, fuming. He had to get out of this housing arrangement somehow.

\---

After school that day, Louis marched toward Harry’s locker. Thankfully, he found him still there, about to shut it.

“Harry!” Louis called out. The hallways had emptied out by that point, so his voice echoed.

“Oh, Louis, what a pleasure,” Harry deadpanned.

“What do you want?”

Harry frowned. “You’re the one pouncing on me at _my_ locker. I should be asking you that.”

“No, not like that. What do you want to make this switch happen?”

“What switch?”

“Us as roommates. Work with me here. How can I get you to not want to be my roommate anymore?”

Harry just stared at him. “I really bother you that much? So much that you’re stressing over something that’s nearly four months away?”

Louis stayed perfectly still, not saying anything or breaking their eye contact.

Harry finally sighed. “You know what, Louis? If you got to actually know me, you might see how I’m not the devil that you think I am. In fact, I’ve actually heard from people that I’m pretty cool.”

“What do you want?”

Harry pursed his lips, pondering the question. “I’ll get back to you.”

“What?” Louis screeched. “Come on, Harry. We graduate in like, three weeks. I’m not letting this drag on past that.”

“Aww, why? Afraid this will put a damper on your perfect summer?”

“Yes, actually. I have enough to worry about without figuring out who my roommate will be.”

“And I don’t?” Harry asked.

“Oh, right. Sorry. You have your stupid football practices to worry about.”

“It’s not like I’m only going to college to play football.”

“Yeah, you’re going to party all the time and our room will smell like your own personal gym locker and there will be playbooks everywhere and it’ll be great.”

“I’ll still have the same amount of classes as you, Louis,” Harry gritted out, trying to keep calm. “You’re not your own special breed of human who’s more important just because you’re pre-med. I’m still going to be a freshman, with the same amount of homework and-”

“Oh, please,” Louis said, cutting Harry off. “You’re going to be a journalism major.”

“And politics.”

“But still. Journalism. You pick a topic and write about it. We’ve been doing that since we were in second grade. What’s the big deal? How hard is it to string a couple of paragraphs together to tell people all about the big game or an event that happens on campus?”

“It’s not that simple. With politics, you have to actually put your feelings aside so you can present both sides of the story, no matter how much you hate one side.”

“As if any of that has _anything_ on how rigorous the pre-med program is going to be.”

“If you would take your head out of your ass for two seconds,” Harry said, stepping closer to Louis, “you would realize that this isn’t a competition. I literally don’t care if you’re pre-med or pre-law or art or fucking philosophy, I can realize that you’re going to be busy and probably stressed out in the fall, because we’ll be freshmen in a brand new environment. So seriously, shut the fuck up and stop being such a pretentious asshole for once in your life.”

“Excuse me?”

“You really think you have me all figured out, don’t you?” Harry asked, taking another step forward. “You have me pegged as the stereotypical jock who cares about nothing but football and getting laid at the next party. That’s really who you think I am, even though I’ve told you enough that should contradict that little picture you have of me.”

Louis didn’t say anything.

“And if we’re being honest,” Harry continued, taking steps closer to Louis until he had him backed up against the lockers, “I think you’re every bit the asshole that you seem to think I am. You’re cocky and you’re high-maintenance and you think you’re better than me. You’re obnoxious and you get on my last nerve. You should be the stereotypical nerd, quiet and nice and willing to help others, but instead, you go against all of that. And you know how I know that?”

Louis didn’t answer, choosing instead to avoid eye contact at all costs.

“Because I’m actually willing to get to know you, and you know what? I don’t like any of it.”

The two of them stood there, Harry staring at Louis as Louis looked anywhere but at Harry. Eventually the silence got to be too much for Louis to deal with, because he finally looked up and made eye contact. The anger in Harry’s eyes was completely expected; the disappointment wasn’t.

“Harry-”

“You’ll have to excuse me. I need to be down in the weight room. Just one of my responsibilities to get me ready for my stupid football practices, I guess.”

Harry turned around and left without another word, and Louis tried not to look as embarrassed and ashamed as he felt.

\---

The next morning, Louis stood outside of Harry’s locker again, this time, for an entirely different reason.

“Oh, boy, what a nice surprise.”

Louis looked up and saw Harry walking toward him, pulling his book bag off his shoulder as he went.

“Can we talk?” Louis asked quietly, despite the loud noise of people in the hallway getting ready for homeroom.

“I’m sure you think you can just talk whenever you want and I just have to listen,” Harry said harshly.

Louis tried not to recoil. “Harry, come on.”

“Come on and what?” Harry opened his locker and started unpacking his bag. “You wanted to talk, so talk. I never agreed to listen to whatever shit comes spewing from your mouth.”

“I’m sorry.” Louis rushed out.

“Can you say that again so us mere mortals can understand?” Harry grabbed the books he would need and shut his locker.

Louis took a deep breath. “I said I’m sorry. I was a dick yesterday to you, and honestly, my friends were, too. I shouldn’t have judged you based on who I thought you were and I should’ve told them to fuck off yesterday when they made their comments. It was childish, and honestly unacceptable.”

Harry sighed. “You seem pretty sincere, so I guess I can accept your apology.”

Louis waited for the ‘but…’ he sensed coming.

“So you’re actually going to try not judging people, then?”

Louis nodded. “Yeah. I was clearly wrong about you and I shouldn’t be so quick to believe what I think I know about people.”

“Good. Because I know what I want.”

“For what?”

“For that switch you seem to be so desperate for.”

“Oh, OK,” Louis said eagerly. “What is it?”

“For you to get to know me. Like, an actual effort. That might be a challenge for you, though, so I’m not sure if you can handle it.”

“OK.”

“OK? Really? Just like that?”

“Just like that. I was wrong already, so I guess I can be wrong again.”

“Glad you feel that way. You’re going to sit with me and my friends today at lunch.”

Louis’ eyes nearly bulged out of his skull. “Excuse me?”

“Sit with me, talk to my friends and see what I’m really like. What _we’re_ really like. That can be your first step.”

“So, if I go along with this, when we get to Hammonton, you’ll tell them that we tried to work things out, but you really need a new roommate? And that you can’t live with me anymore?”

“Sure. Whatever.”

“Perfect. Well then, I guess I’ll see you at lunch.”

“Sounds peachy. We should probably get to homeroom first, though, roomie.”

“Stop calling me that,” Louis said.

“Not yet. There’s still a chance I could change your mind.” Harry winked again before heading into class.

“Not likely.” Louis shook his head and followed Harry. As he took his normal seat, he wondered why Harry kept winking at him.

\---

“You’re really going to sit over there?” Niall asked in shock.

“Yeah, I’m sitting over there today.” Louis looked across the lunchroom, where Harry sat with five other people.

“How did you get so unlucky to get _him_ as your roommate?” Perrie wondered, still not over their conversation yesterday.

“Don’t know. But I’m trying to get out of it.”

With a nod, Louis stood up with his tray and walked over, ready to be uncomfortable with a table full of jocks for the next half hour.

“There he is,” Harry announced when Louis was only a few feet away. “Better late than never, I suppose.” Harry pulled out the chair next to him and gestured for Louis to take a seat.

Louis held his tongue as he sat down and looked around the table. Everyone sitting there had quieted down, confused at what was happening. Liam gave him a brief smile, but that was it.

“Let me guess,” Sophia, one of the cheerleaders, asked as she leaned forward. “You want to look cool for once so you decided to sit here. Right?”

Louis’ cheeks burned, wondering if Harry felt at all this way yesterday.

When he didn’t answer, Sophia’s eyes squinted. “Wait. You’re not like, being bullied, are you? I saw this in a movie once. And like, the character sat down with a bunch of athletes so their bully would back off. Is that what’s happening?”

“Wait, is someone messing with you, Louis?” Ryan, a football player, asked. “Because that’s not cool. Bulldogs don’t bully!”

Ryan started to stand up, but Harry, Sophia and the rest of the table made him sit down.

“Ry, calm down,” Harry said, resting an arm across the back of Louis’ chair. “Louis is just visiting. We’re going to be roommates at Hammonton in the fall.”

“Really?” Leigh-Anne, another cheerleader, asked. “That’s so cool. You’re lucky you’ll know someone at school. I won’t know anyone when I start.”

“Me, either,” said Jesy, the only non-athlete at the table besides Louis. “God, it kind of sucks to have to start all over. I’m sure I’ll be fine, but those first few days will be nerve-wracking.”

“You can’t really be nervous about making friends,” Harry said. “Leigh, you either. You’re some of the most social people I’ve ever met.”

“Yeah, because I’m used to this place. I’ve known everyone here as long as I can remember. I’ll have to meet a bunch of random strangers in September. Again, I know I’ll be OK, but there’s just a little bit of uncertainty.”

“Liam and I are staying local,” Sophia said. “So, you know, we’ll see probably half of our graduating class around campus.”

Everyone laughed at Sophia’s true statement.

“Ryan, what about you?” Louis asked, genuinely curious about his plans for after graduation.

“Oh, I’m joining the Marines,” Ryan answered casually.

“Really?”

“Yeah. My dad and grandfather did, and it’s sort of been my plan for a while. So in the fall, I’ll be enlisting.”

“Wow,” Louis said, a bit in disbelief. “That’s, um, incredible. I wish you a lot of luck with that.”

“Thanks.” Ryan smiled before taking a bite of the pasta he had for lunch.

After that, the conversation sort of broke apart, as Sophia, Leigh-Anne and Jesy started talking about an English test they had coming up, while Harry, Liam and Ryan began discussing the training camp on Saturday.

As he listened to Harry talk to his teammates, Louis officially felt like shit. Harry and his friends had been nothing but nice to him, while Louis and his friends had been total assholes to Harry just yesterday. He felt like he needed to apologize. Again. He took a look back at his table, where his friends were all chatting and laughing about something, and Louis had to admit that while he was more used to sitting with his friends, he didn’t actually feel uncomfortable where he was right now.

The rest of lunch passed quickly, and Louis joined in different conversations with Harry and his friends. They were all nice people, which Louis hadn’t known leading up to this point. When there was just a minute left of lunch, he and Ryan went to throw out their trash at the same time.

“Seriously, though,” Ryan said as they handed in their lunch trays, “if someone’s messing with you, you let me know.”

Louis smiled. “You’re really nice. But I promise it’s not like that. Just trying to get to know Harry better.”

“About time.”

Louis furrowed his brow. “What do you mean, about time?”

Ryan gave him a strange look. “Louis, come on. You’re the smartest kid in school. Surely you know what I’m talking about.”

Just then, the bell rang, dismissing them to their next class.

“See you later,” Ryan told him, clapping him on the shoulder.

Unfortunately, because Louis was trying to figure out what Ryan was talking about, and also because of Ryan’s large, beefy size, that clap on the shoulder sent him flying to the side, right into someone’s arms.

“Wow, easy there,” Harry said, catching Louis and stopping him from falling over.

“Thanks.”

“No problem. What was Ryan telling you?”

“Nothing,” Louis told him. They started walking toward the exit.

“So how wrong were you?” Harry asked with a gleam in his eye.

Louis sighed. “Really wrong. Your friends are really cool. And really nice.”

“I know. You like how Ryan was willing to fight someone just because he thought you were being bullied?”

“Yes, you don’t have to remind me.”

“That’s called practicing what you preach, you know. Bulldogs have a strict no-bullying, no-hazing policy. Even though you’re not on the team, Ryan really would’ve defended you against someone.”

“Good to know. I might need his services. Apparently, some people find me to be obnoxious? Have you heard anything like that?”

“Hmm…” Harry said, pretending to ponder the question. “It rings a few bells.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve been lucky enough to not get punched yet. But the year’s almost over. I guess anything could happen.”

They reached the door to the stairwell then. Harry had to keep going straight, but Louis had to go upstairs.

“Um, what are you doing after school today?” Louis asked quickly.

“I have practice today.”

“Oh.”

“Why, do you want to come?” Harry asked. “You can, but it’s really boring today. We’re literally just running.”

“No, no. That’s fine.”

“If you want, you can stop by on Thursday. We’ll be practicing hurdles, so that will be a little more interesting.”

“This Thursday? I can’t; I’m watching my sisters after school.”

“You can come next Thursday,” Harry said eagerly. “Thursdays are usually hurdle days.”

“Oh. OK. Um, maybe.”

Harry smiled. “Cool. I’ll see you later.”

“Yup. See you.”

As Louis headed toward his next class, he couldn’t shake the fluttering in his chest. He chalked it up to him eating his lunch too fast. That had to be it.

\---

On Wednesday, Louis sat with Harry and his friends at lunch again. It was just as fun as it had been the day before.

“Hey, so I feel like we’re past the whole hatred thing you had for me,” Harry said as they left the cafeteria.

Louis laughed. “I never hated you.”

“If that helps you sleep at night, sure you didn’t.”

“Whatever.” Louis had a smile on his face, though, so Harry figured he might as well continue.

“So, I think that we should hang out this weekend.”

“This weekend?”

“Yeah. I mean, if you’re free.”

“I might be. I might have to watch my sisters again.”

“Do you watch your sisters a lot?” Harry asked.

“Not a lot, just whenever my parents have work. They like for someone to be home just in case.”

“Makes sense. Well let me know if you have time.”

“What do you want to do?” Louis asked.

Harry shrugged. “I hadn’t gotten that far, honestly. But like, we could see a movie or something. Or, you know, [Rita’s](https://www.ritasice.com/) has been open for two months and I still haven’t gone.”

Louis just shook his head. “How embarrassing for you. We definitely have to fix that.” He pulled out his phone. “What’s your number? I’ll text you.”

Harry gave it to him. “Text me later so I have yours.”

“Sounds good.” Louis smiled. “You know what, Styles? You’re all right.”

“Oh yeah? How all right?”

“You’re so all right that I might let you buy me water ice this weekend.”

Harry frowned. “Maybe I don’t want to be all right anymore. I’ll settle for just mediocre.”

Louis laughed. “Whatever, Styles. I have to go, but I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Counting on it.” Harry winked as he hurried off to class.

Louis didn’t roll his eyes at the wink this time.

\---

**_Harry: hey, what’s the difference between stockings and tights_ **

Louis frowned at his phone that night as he sat on his bed, trying to figure out what the fuck relevance this question had.

**_Louis: who is this_ **

**_Harry: funny. seriously, what’s the difference_ **

**_Louis: i have no idea. why do you think i would know that_ **

**_Harry: bc ur the smartest kid in school_ **

**_Louis: yeah a public high school not fashion school_ **

**_Louis: seriously why do you think that’s common knowledge for me_ **

**_Harry: i don’t, honestly. just wanted a reason to bug you lol_ **

**_Louis: cute. thanks_ **

**_Harry: ur welcome. any time_ **

**_Louis: what brought this question about  
_**

**_Harry: my mom and sister are talking about it, and my step dad and i are both confused_ **

**_Louis: oh. you know, google is your friend_ **

**_Harry: yeah, but i can’t annoy google like I can annoy you_ **

**_Louis: ur honestly not annoying me. i can use the distraction_ **

**_Harry: why? what are you doing_ **

**_Louis: calc homework_ **

**_Louis: it’s a blast_ **

**_Harry: sounds like it_ **

**_Louis: can’t wait to be done with it_ **

**_Harry: yeah, bc i’m sure ur pre med classes will be a cakewalk compared to that…_ **

**_Louis: no, not really, but they’ll be a lot more interesting_ **

**_Louis: and I’ll actually care about them. this shit? not so much_ **

**_Harry: i hear you. i took journalism first semester and the teacher wouldn’t let me write anything about politics. said it was ‘too depressing’_ **

**_Harry: sorry but it was pretty relevant? and it was happening at the time, so…_ **

**_Louis: sounds like our high school_ **

**_Louis: which teacher_ **

**_Harry: mullin. i only took the class bc i needed an elective so i went with that._ **

**_Harry: hated every second of it, too_ **

**_Louis: sorry. that’s like anatomy and physiology. it’s pretty interesting, and i like all of the dissections, but, sorry, the body of a cat is a lot different than the body of a human_ **

**_Louis: just saying_ **

**_Harry: thought about taking that class, but once i heard that you do like, eight dissections, it was a hard pass_ **

**_Louis: that’s the only reason i took it. to cut stuff open_ **

**_Louis: now i sound like a serial killer. just gonna go now…_ **

**_Harry: hahaha_ **

**_Harry: don’t go. that was funny. tell me more about your homicidal tendencies_ **

**_Louis: shut up_ **

**_Harry: we’re texting. idk if shut up really applies here_ **

**_Louis: stop typing then_ **

**_Harry: no_ **

**_Louis: you’re annoying_ **

**_Harry: then my job here is done. that was my goal_ **

**_Louis: congratulations. you want a gold star?_ **

**_Harry: like a sticker? sure. can i put it on my football helmet_ **

**_Louis: what was that about telling you about my homicidal tendencies? i can show you if you’d rather_ **

**_Harry: i knew it. you just want a room all to yourself in the fall. don’t lie_ **

**_Louis: you caught me. that was my plan all along, to get you to text me about TIGHTS so that we could start talking about bullshit classes and i could make a homicide reference and lure you in with a demonstration. that’s it. i’ve been found out due to your brilliance_ **

**_Harry: i mean, i am pretty brilliant_ **

**_Louis: i know you are_ **

**_Harry: why do i feel like ur still being sarcastic?_ **

**_Louis: i’m really not. seriously_ **

**_Harry: oh. well thank you_ **

**_Louis: ur welcome_ **

**_Louis: any more random questions?_ **

**_Harry: yeah, actually. is it true that cannibals don’t eat clowns bc they taste funny?_ **

Louis burst into laughter and clutched his phone tightly in his hand so he wouldn’t drop it. Then he pushed his calculus book and notebook away before getting comfortable. He had a feeling that he was going to be there for a while.

\---

Louis wound up sitting with Harry and his friends in the cafeteria the rest of the week, and Louis became more comfortable with them with each passing day. Unfortunately, Louis and Harry weren’t able to find a time to get water ice that worked for both of them over the long weekend, so they agreed to try after training camp the following week.

On Monday, they were off for Memorial Day, so on Tuesday Harry sat with Louis and his friends. To Louis’ dismay, his friends were just as icy as they had been the week before, so much that Harry left after ten minutes.

“You know, you could at least be nice to him,” Louis said to his friends as Harry walked away.

“Why?” Jade asked. “Just because you had the bad luck of getting him as your roommate doesn’t mean we have to be his friends.”

“I’m not even asking you to be friends, just to be nice.”

“It’s _Harry Styles_. Like, when have we ever been friendly with him?”

“It doesn’t matter if you’ve never been friends before, you can just be civil now,” Louis argued. “Why is this so complicated for you to understand? You know what civil means.”

And suddenly Louis remembered his and Harry’s conversation on the benches outside, when Harry said Louis needed a linguistics lesson. Louis didn’t know how to feel that he was starting to sound like him.

Louis cleared his throat. “Besides, he’s really cool once you get to know him. And he’s really smart. He wants to be a journalist.”

“For what?” Stan laughed. “ _Highlights Magazine?_ ”

“No,” Louis said, starting to get annoyed. “A political journalist. And he really knows his shit. We were texting last night and-”

“Wait, wait.” Jade cut him off. “Why were you texting him?”

Louis shrugged. “Because he gave me his number at lunch last week, and… I don’t know. We text a lot and talk for a while.”

“How long is a while?” Niall asked.

“Well last night was like, three hours?”

“Do you like, _like_ him or something?” Perrie asked.

Niall and Stan raised their eyebrows at the question, seeming curious about the answer.

Louis scoffed. He really just wanted his friends to shut up about this. “Do I _like_ Harry? Of course I don’t. Do I want him around? Of course not. But I can be nice for now, and if I am, he’ll call up Hammonton and hopefully they can let me off the hook for being his roommate. I know how to play this game. Hammonton’s a big school. I just have to be friendly for a little while and then I’ll never see him after we graduate. Done.”

“Uh, Lou?” Niall bit his lower lip as he stared over Louis’ shoulder.

Louis quickly turned around, but already had a good guess of who was there.

Harry had his lips pressed together, staring at the floor and looking completely crestfallen.

“H- Hey,” Louis stuttered.

“I forgot my jacket,” Harry said, not looking up. He pointed to the chair where he’d been sitting, the one beside Louis. He grabbed his jacket and, without another word, headed back to his table.

“Well he’ll definitely want to switch roommates now,” Stan attempted to joke.

Louis rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Shut up.”

His friends slowly started up a new conversation, and Louis looked over his shoulder at Harry’s table. Harry was sitting back in his chair with his head ducked down and Ryan was trying to talk to him. Harry just shook his head at whatever Ryan had said, which caused Liam to frown. Then, Liam and Ryan both looked his way. They looked mad, and Louis was definitely their target.

\---

That day after school, Louis stood at his locker, getting ready to leave for the day. And just like a scene from a horror movie, when he closed the locker door, Ryan and Liam stood behind it.

Louis only jumped a little bit, and thankfully didn’t scream or make any other embarrassing noise.

“Hey, guys,” Louis said nervously. “Um, what’s up?”

Without a word, Ryan and Liam each picked up Louis under one arm and carried him away.

“Guys, guys, come on, let’s not do this,” Louis pleaded. “Come on, just tell me what you want.”

Neither of them said anything as they took him into an empty classroom just down the hall. Liam shut the door behind them and they both turned on Louis.

“What’d you say to Harry?” Ryan asked menacingly.

“Um, nothing?”

“Liar!”

“Ry, calm down,” Liam said. “Louis, just tell us what you said.”

“I didn’t say anything _to_ Harry.”

“Louis!”

“OK! I um, well, my friends were giving me a hard time about Harry because we don’t usually all hang out, you know? And they know that we’re going to be roommates in the fall and-”

“Spit it out,” Ryan said. “What happened?”

“OK, well my friends were talking shit on Harry, and I defended him because I know how great Harry is, but they don’t see it yet because they’re all annoying. And then they asked if I liked Harry-”

“Do you?” Liam asked quickly.

“No?” Louis said uncertainly. “I mean, no. I don’t, but with my friends, you can’t just say no, you have to back it up. And I may have gone overboard.”

“What’d you say?”

“I said that I didn’t want him around and that I was only being nice so that he would talk to Hammonton and we wouldn’t have to be roommates anymore.”

Liam and Ryan stared at Louis as he rushed out his answer.

“You said that?”

“Yeah?”

Liam shook his head. “You know, for the smartest kid in school, you’re really not that bright.”

“Why does everyone keep saying that?” Louis wondered.

“Come on, you _have_ to know-”

Ryan cut in. “He doesn’t. I thought he did the other day, but he doesn’t. I know. I was surprised, too.”

“Know what?” Louis asked.

“Harry likes you, loser,” Ryan said.

“What?”

“Again, I’m surprised, too.”

“There’s no way.”

“Trust us, there is,” Liam assured him.

“How long?” Louis asked.

“Not sure how long, but I started noticing last year, after you gave that monologue from _The Canterbury Tales_ in English class.”

“A year ago?”

“Yup.”

Louis started to pace. “This doesn’t make any sense.”

“Why not?” Ryan asked. “I mean, I’ve only really spoken to you for the last week, but from what I’ve heard about you around school, you seem all right.”

“Because I’m not- like, I don’t fit in with you guys. I mean, I’m the valedictorian, and he’s… _Harry._ Like, he’s the quarterback of the football team and he runs track and he’s cool and I’m annoying, and-”

“Oh my God,” Ryan groaned. “This isn’t _High School Musical_. We’re not going to make him choose between a playoff game and going off into the sunset with you just because you’re a nerd.”

“Why can you make a _High School Musical_ reference right now?” Liam asked.

“I have three younger sisters, remember? And I’ve been known to bust out a mean Troy Bolton solo.”

“You have three younger sisters?” Louis asked.

“Yeah.”

“Oh, I have four.”

“Yeah?” Ryan grinned. “That’s awesome.”

“So what are you going to do now?” Liam asked, interrupting their discussion before it could go any further.

“I still think you’re crazy, but I’ll text him tonight,” Louis said. “I promise.”

“You better. I don’t like seeing my best friend upset.”

\---

As soon as Louis got home, he went straight up to his room to text Harry. He didn’t remember Harry mentioning having practice today, so he hoped Harry would respond quickly, if at all.

**_Louis: Harry, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean what I said, I swear. Can we talk? Please?_ **

**_Louis: Just text me, please. Or call me. Literally whenever._ **

Louis took a deep breath and put his phone down. He didn’t want to explain everything over the phone, but needed to make sure that Harry at least saw that he was sorry.

An hour later, Louis tried to call Harry. It rang for a while before going to voicemail, so he left a message.

“Hey, Harry,” Louis said. “It’s Louis. Please call me back, or text me. I can explain what happened. I’m really sorry, OK?”

He hung up the phone and hoped Harry would call him back. Sadly, he waited all night for a response. He never got one.

\---

On Wednesday morning, Louis walked into homeroom and saw Harry already there. He had his arms folded on his desk with his head propped on top of them. Liam was in the seat next to him, eyeing Louis up with every step he took.

Louis put his books on his desk and walked to the back of his row.

“Hey, Harry,” Louis said quietly.

“Hi, Louis.” Harry didn’t look up, though. He just kept staring straight ahead.

“Um, I texted you last night. Did you get it?”

“Yeah.”

“I, uh, called you, too.”

“I heard the voicemail.”

“Oh. Oh, OK.”

Louis glanced over at Liam, who was already watching him. Liam raised an eyebrow, which meant something along the lines of ‘try harder.’

“Harry, can I talk to you?” Louis asked, hoping his sincerity was shining through.

“About what?”

“About what I said yesterday at lunch.”

Harry finally looked up at him. Louis could’ve cried at how sad he looked. “Yeah, I’ll call Hammonton and tell them to switch us as roommates. No big deal.”

“No, Harry, that’s not it-”

“You should sit down, Louis,” Harry said. “The bell’s about to ring.”

Sure enough, about two seconds later, it did.

Louis opened his mouth to say something again, but Harry wasn’t even looking at him anymore. Then the announcements began, and Louis knew he’d missed his window.

He walked back to his seat. Time for Plan B.

\---

After school the next day, Louis hoped he was going to the right place. But Harry had said last week that they practice hurdles on Thursdays, so it only made sense that they’d be on the track around the football field.

He entered the football stadium and saw all of the hurdles set up on the track, so it looked like he was in the right spot. He found a seat on the lower bleachers and looked for Harry. He saw a few guys from the team stretching on the field, but none of them were Harry.

He pulled out his phone to check the time and when he looked up, he saw Harry. He was with about eight other guys, and they were just returning to the track. Louis guessed they’d gone for a warm-up jog before attempting the hurdles.

Once Harry’s group returned, the other group of boys who were stretching started jogging away.

Harry led the boys that were left in some more stretches, and that’s when he saw Louis waiting in the stands.

Harry stared while he went into a forward lunge. He kept staring as he switched legs and then stretched his quads.

He watched Louis for so long that two of his teammates noticed, and started giggling amongst themselves.

Louis heard Harry call for the boys to keep stretching before jogging over to where Louis sat.

“What are you doing here?” he asked once he was close enough.

Louis shrugged. “You said to come to practice so I could see the hurdles.”

“Yeah, but that was last Tuesday, before- Um, just a while ago.”

“Harry, I fucked up,” Louis blurted out. “Like, there’s no other way to describe it. I sounded like an asshole and I’m not surprised that you think I am. I wouldn’t blame you if you hated me now and definitely didn’t want to be my roommate in the fall.”

Harry looked away from Louis and kicked at the ground. “Why did you say all of that? About not wanting me around? I thought we were actually becoming sort of friends.”

“We are friends!”

“So why did you say that?”

“Because I’m an idiot, that’s why,” Louis said. “You should know that by now. I’m smart, but I’m not that bright. Your friends have already told me so.”

“My friends?”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s not important. What _is_ important is that I’m sorry, and I feel like I say that a lot, but I truly am.”

“Why should I believe that, though? How do I know that you’re not just being nice until we switch from being roommates and then you really don’t ever talk to me again.”

“I don’t want to switch.”

That caught Harry off guard. “What?”

“I don’t want to switch.” Louis shrugged a shoulder. “I mean, I would get it if you did and wanted to get away from me because you hate me.”

“Louis, I never hated you. Yeah, you got on my nerves a lot but I feel like we moved past that. And, I mean, if we’re being honest here… I’ve sort of liked you for a while.”

“I know.”

“You knew? I thought I was doing a good job of hiding it…”

“No, you were _really_ good at hiding it. Seriously, I had no idea. No, Ryan and Liam told me.”

Harry’s eyes widened. “Why?”

“Uhh…” Louis stalled, trying to figure out a decent answer.

“Louis, why would they tell you that?”

“Because, um, they asked me if I liked you.” Louis looked down at his lap as he said it, not wanting to look directly at Harry for fear of exploding from embarrassment.

“What?” Harry asked quietly, hesitantly.

“Umm…”

“Louis? D-do you? Like me?”

“Styles!”

Harry and Louis both turned to see Harry’s coach waving at him.

“We don’t got all day! Let’s go!”

Harry looked back and forth between his coach and Louis. “Um, look, what are you doing after this?” Harry asked as he started to back away, headed toward the rest of his team.

“Going home?” Louis said, although he didn’t really want to do that.

“Don’t. Wait for me, OK?”

Louis just nodded, and once Harry was satisfied Louis wasn’t going to run away, he returned to his team.

Louis leaned back in the bleachers, resting on his forearms, and stretched his legs out in front of him. He didn’t know how long practice would last, so he might as well get comfortable. He watched Harry return to his teammates, and a few of them playfully nudged him on the shoulder. One or two even looked over at Louis, not bothering to hide their curiosity. But then their coach was blowing the whistle, so whatever comments they had were quickly silenced. He said a few words that Louis couldn’t make out, then pointed over his shoulder with his thumb. Louis supposed that meant they were getting started.

To make matters worse, the team walked over to the fence nearest the bleachers, where extra hurdles were lined up. Each guy went to one hurdle and stood about a foot behind it. When the coach blew his whistle, they took two steps forward before swinging one leg up and over the hurdle and kicking it against the fence. Then they brought their leg down, backed up and did it again. They started out slowly, then quickly got faster, until they were so fast that Louis got winded just watching them. Every now and then, Harry would glance up at Louis, and when he did, his rhythm faltered. Louis smiled at him each and every time, hoping it would help.

Once the coach was happy, he blew the whistle again, which Louis guessed brought them to their next drill. The boys all stood next to their hurdles and grabbed onto the fence in front of them. When the coach gave the signal, they practiced swinging the other leg up and over the hurdle before quickly bringing it down and repeating. As Harry moved, Louis could see the concentration as he tried to keep his movements steadier, although he still couldn’t avoid the occasional glance at Louis to make sure he was still watching.

After another minute, the coach told them to stop and called for ‘Group Left’ to head to the track. Harry, and about half of his teammates, took their time walking, while the rest immediately went to stand next to one of the hurdles that were already set up around the track. At the coach’s whistle, the boys began marching, and Louis noticed that every third step, they would stop next to the hurdle, plant their left foot and swing their right foot over it. Then they would keep going. Once this group was halfway down the track, the coach told Harry and the other boys to take their spots. Since the first group stood to the left of each hurdle, Harry’s group stood to the right. They did the same thing as the last group, only they swung their left leg over the hurdles.

Practice went on just like that, with all of the boys running different drills and Louis feeling more and more like he needed to take up running.

Finally, after nearly an hour, it was time for the fun stuff. The entire team changed their track shoes to cleats and made their way to the start of the track. They lined up in rows of four, and Louis focused in on Harry, who would be one of the first ones to run. Harry and the three other guys he would be running with got into position, waiting for the signal to go.

When the coach blew the whistle, the four boys took off, headed toward the first hurdle. Louis’ eyebrows shot up. They were _fast,_ and made jumping over tall wooden obstacles look really easy.

Louis’ eyes were glued to Harry as he moved, noting the intense determination on his face and the way his face scrunched up as he leapt over each hurdle. He saw how his arms were bent at perfect ninety-degree angles as he ran and his legs extended even longer than Louis thought possible when he jumped. The muscles in his calves flexed when he landed and pushed off to continue moving forward. His entire body moved perfectly in sync, and it was something magical to see.

Louis leaned forward as he watched Harry move flawlessly, and in seconds, it was over. Harry slowed down after he crossed the finish line – first – and curved over to the side to clear the track for the next group of runners. He glanced over at Louis and gave him a low thumbs-up. Louis just winked, instantly bringing a smile to Harry’s face.

Practice went on for another half hour until the coach finally dismissed them. Harry immediately looked at Louis and called out, “Give me five minutes!”

Louis nodded. Once Harry was gone, Louis stood up and stretched. Then he walked over to his car to wait. He texted Harry to let him know.

Exactly seven minutes later, Harry emerged from the building, his hair wet from the quick shower he’d probably just taken. He wore a pair of basketball shorts and a plain black T-shirt, but all Louis could think about was how cute he looked.

“Hey,” Harry said. He leaned against Louis’ car next to him.

“Hey. You did really well today.”

Harry shrugged. “I did OK.”

“No, seriously,” Louis insisted. “That was awesome to watch. You’re so fast I can hardly stand it.”

Harry grinned. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

They smiled at each other, and the conversation came to a temporary halt.

“Um, so, could we keep talking about what we were saying earlier?” Harry wondered. “Before my coach yelled at me?”

Louis hesitated, but nodded. “Yeah, I think we should. But not here.”

“OK. Well, are you hungry?”

“Yeah, I could eat.”

“OK. You want to go to the diner?”

“Sure,” Louis said. “I’ll meet you there?”

“Yeah. OK, sounds good.”

“Cool.”

Harry walked across the parking lot to his car, and Louis got into his own. Then he drove over to the diner a few minutes away. Once they had both arrived, they walked in and were seated in a booth. Their waitress gave them menus and promised to return in a moment for their order.

“What are you getting?” Louis asked, noticing how Harry didn’t pick up his menu, either.

“Bacon cheeseburger with spinach instead of lettuce and cheese fries,” Harry said. “You?”

“I think I’m just getting old bay fries. I’m not super hungry right now.”

Harry nodded, and then silence fell over their table.

The waitress came back and took their food and drink orders. Then she was gone again.

“So… I guess we can’t put this off any longer, then?”

Louis shook his head. “No, not really.”

“Guess we should start, then.”

“I don’t want to switch roommates.”

“Why?” Harry asked. “What changed your mind?”

“You did,” Louis replied, as if that should’ve been obvious. “I realized you’re not the immature, self-absorbed, disrespectful idiot I thought you were.”

“Thanks?”

“Seriously, though, you’re a better person than I am.”

Harry shook his head. “That’s not-”

“Shut up. Don’t tell me it’s not true. You never judged me for anything; in fact, you liked me despite all of my flaws. And I formed an image of you in like, middle school, and never let it go. And I’m sorry for doing that to you.”

“Don’t be. You weren’t the only one.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean,” Harry started to explain, “there have been plenty of people who just saw me as this super athlete who didn’t need to open a book or study for a test or actually have any kind of substance. I’ve had teachers act surprised when I hand in assignments the day after football games. Apparently, I should’ve been too busy practicing my spirals to write a paper. I’ve been accused of cheating because my grade on a test was the highest in the class. Mr. Norris last year ran my research paper through turnitin, right in front of me, because he was convinced it was plagiarized. It wasn’t, but he thought it was too good from me since I had track meets the entire weekend before the paper was due, so clearly I couldn’t have done such a good job on it, because, you know, doing a project early and having good time management isn’t realistic for someone like me.”

Harry was starting to get angry now, so Louis reached across the table and held his hand in his own.

“Harry…”

It seemed to help, but not totally. Harry’s eyes were still tense and his shoulders were stiff. Luckily, he didn’t push Louis’ hand away.

Their waitress brought them their drinks, then, telling them their food would be ready soon.

“Thank you,” Louis said.

When she was gone, Louis gave Harry’s hand a squeeze.

“Do you know what it’s like to have your guidance counselor have to pretend that they don’t want to laugh when you tell them you’ve been studying for the SATs?” Harry asked quietly. “It’s not fun.”

“Who did that to you?”

“Marin,” Harry answered, referring to the guidance counselor that had retired at the end of their sophomore year. “God, he was a dick.”

“Clearly. And definitely in the wrong profession if he didn’t see how amazing you are.”

Harry blushed. “Yeah.”

“I mean it. If you need me to boost your ego even more than I already have today, then I will.”

Harry smiled. “I know you do. And I know you will. It’s just hard, you know? Like, I know how smart I am, and how good I am on the track and on the football field, but not everyone gets that those things can go hand in hand. I just feel like I have to constantly keep proving to people that I’m not _just_ an athlete. I mean, yeah, that’s a pretty big part of me, but it’s not all I am, you know?”

“And I probably didn’t help anything when I came along and assumed that was all you are.”

“It’s OK.”

“It’s not, but thanks for saying it,” Louis replied. “I feel like an asshole all over again.”

“You’re not. Relax.”

“Just, the things I’ve said to you…”

“Would you say them again?” Harry wanted to know. “Ever?”

Louis easily shook his head. “No way.”

“Then it’s OK. At least you’re trying to get to know me now.”

“OK.”

Their waitress came over with their food. After she placed their plates down in front of them, she asked if they needed anything else.

“No, thank you,” Harry said politely.

She left them alone again.

“As for that last part of our conversation from earlier…” Harry started, ignoring his food for the time being.

“Yeah.”

“Louis, do you like me?”

“Shut up.”

Harry just smiled. “So that’s a yes.”

“Shut up.”

“Yes, it is. You like a jock. What low standards you have.”

“Hmm… I actually have it on good authority that the jocks at our school are pretty cool. I’ve heard that from a few people.”

Harry leaned forward. “They lied.”

Louis laughed. He picked up a fry and threw it at Harry’s head. He pouted when Harry easily caught it in his mouth.

“What?” Harry asked as he chewed. “Come on, I’m the quarterback. I have excellent reflexes.”

“Whatever.”

“Hey, um, speaking of quarterback… What are you doing Saturday?”

“Hmmm…” Louis released Harry’s hand and sat back in the booth. “I seem to remember not having anything to do, but considering going to this football thing because this guy I sort of, maybe, really like is going to be there and I wanted to support him.”

“Anyone I know?” Harry asked, taking a bite of his burger.

“Maybe. Do you know anyone on the team who’s cute, with curly brown hair and pretty green eyes? He’s really nice and smart and might just be a little bit too good for me?”

“Oh, that’s like the entire team.”

Louis kicked Harry under the seat. “Rude!”

Harry just laughed. “So I guess you’re coming to the training camp Saturday?”

“I would absolutely love to.”

“OK.”

“Now let’s eat before our food gets cold.”

“Good, because I’m starving.”

The two of them ate their food, making easy conversation in between bites. When they finished, Louis insisted on paying for it.

“Stop it,” Harry said. “I already know how much my food was, so just take the money.”

“No.”

“You’re kind of stubborn, you know.”

“Am not! Besides, you’re paying for water ice after the camp, remember? I might get some to take home, too.”

“You’re gonna get the most expensive thing they have, aren’t you? And then order like, five of them.”

“Of course not,” Louis said.

“Now I really want to pay for the food today.”

Louis laughed. “Nope. This is all me.”

“Good thing I have a scholarship for school. Otherwise, I’d never be able to go.”

Louis rolled his eyes. “Come on.”

They went up to the register and Louis paid the bill. After he got his change, they went out to the parking lot.

They stopped next to Louis’ car. “So, I’ll see you in school tomorrow?” Harry asked, sliding his hands in his back pockets.

“Yes, you will.”

“And definitely the camp on Saturday?”

“Yes! What time does it start?”

“Ten. But you don’t have to be there the whole time. It goes until the last practice game is over and it’s literally all football. I know that’s not really your thing.”

“It might be my thing a little bit more now,” Louis said.

Harry stepped closer to Louis. “Oh, really? Why’s that?”

“I think you know why.” Louis wrapped his arms around Harry’s waist.

“Oh, do I?”

“I really hope so. Otherwise now you’re the one who can’t pick up on hints.”

“Well we can’t have that, can we?”

Louis smiled as he shook his head. “No, we really can’t.”

“What should we do about that, then?”

“I think I can think of something.”

Harry slowly brought his hands around Louis’ shoulders, holding him closely. “I can probably think of something, too.”

Louis licked his lips as Harry carefully leaned in. He could hear Harry’s shaky breath as he moved, and Louis could admit that he probably sounded about the same.

When they were centimeters apart, Louis looked at Harry’s face once more before closing his eyes. He felt Harry rest his forehead against Louis’, and they stayed that way for just a second. And then Harry’s lips were on his.

Louis gasped at the contact before he kissed Harry back. He tilted his head up and over a bit more as their lips moved together. He leaned up more, too, not wanting any space between the two of them.

The kiss was slow and very gentle. Louis was glad he licked his lips before, though. Harry’s lips were a little chapped, but still so nice on Louis’.

Harry could feel Louis’ hands against his lower back, his thumbs slowly moving up and down just enough to send shivers up Harry’s spine.

When Louis started to pull back, Harry chased his lips, placing two slow pecks there before allowing them to separate.

“That was nice,” Louis said simply.

“If someone told me two weeks ago that I’d be kissing you, I never would’ve believed them.”

“Same.”

Harry started laughing. “So, I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Definitely.” Louis leaned in for one more long kiss before putting his arms down.

“OK.”

Harry started to back away, and as he turned around, he bumped into Louis’ car, tripping over his feet.

Louis laughed out loud. “How are you the quarterback?”

“I have no idea! Don’t rat me out to the coach, OK?”

“Promise.”

“Thanks.” Harry went to his car then, and Louis couldn’t believe how much he liked this boy.

\---

Louis sat with Harry and his friends at lunch the next day at school. People were starting to talk about what it all meant, Louis’ friends included, but neither could be bothered to explain it.

\---

The training camp was crazy. There were people literally everywhere, loud music playing and lights going off every time someone won a prize at one of the many games going on. The bleachers were packed with people, either parents watching their kids on the field or people just wanting to spend a nice day outside.

“I can’t believe you made me come to this,” Niall grumbled as he and Louis walked through the entrance to the football stadium.

“You owe me,” Louis said. “You were a jerk and you know it.”

“I didn’t say anything mean to Harry!”

“Yeah, but you sat there while it happened. You didn’t help the situation at all.”

Niall blushed. “Sorry.”

“It’s OK. But come on. It’s a day out. The weather’s great, we can play games and maybe learn some football moves.”

“You’re only here for a few certain football moves.”

“What?” Louis asked.

“I don’t know; I’ve only been awake for half an hour and I’m hungry. Ooh, is that funnel cake?”

“Niall, shut up and help me find Harry.”

“You already know he’s coaching a group. It’s not that hard.”

“Niall, there are five groups out here. It’s not just Harry.”

Louis was right, of course. Throughout the stadium, there were different training sessions going on at once. Four of the groups consisted of drills to improve kicking, passing, blocking and dodging. The fifth group depended on each participant’s age, with the younger kids doing agility drills and the older kids practicing tackling. Hundreds of kids from the local elementary and middle schools showed up for the camp, and had started training at 10 o’clock this morning. Every half hour, the groups would rotate, and once all of the kids had been through all of the sessions, then the coaches would organize two games for the ‘trainees’ to play, with the younger kids playing touch football, and the older ones doing regular tackle football.

It was a long day, and a very busy one, but Louis was excited. It was the first one he’d ever attended, never having an interest in the sport before now.

Shocking.

On one half of the field, Ryan and a few other football players were leading a group on tackling. On the second half, some of the players were practicing dodging tackles. Liam had the younger kids working on their agility on the track surrounding the field. On the fifty-yard line were players practicing blocking. In the large space behind their bleachers were some of the players practicing kicking. And then, all the way in the back, in front of the scoreboard, were Harry and his group working on passing.

“Hey, I’m gonna go say hi to Harry-” Louis stopped talking once he realized that Niall was no longer standing next to him. “OK, then. Good talk.”

Louis started walking toward the back, choosing to go up the side of the track where Liam had his kids.

When Liam saw him, he gave him a quick smile before turning back into a drill sergeant to get his trainees to keep running.

At least that had been resolved. Louis wasn’t sure if Liam would still be mad at him or not, but it looked like he wouldn’t be.

As Louis got closer to Harry’s group, he didn’t know what he should do. He didn’t know if Harry would talk to him or if he would just wait until the group was done. He wasn’t sure where to stand, either. They were passing the ball, so they would be running around everywhere. Louis didn’t want to get in anyone’s way, so he stood off to the side and listened to Harry as he adjusted a middle schooler’s stance.

“Put your feet a bit farther apart,” he said, waiting for the boy to get ready. “Good. And square your shoulders. When you throw it, remember what I said about your fingers leaving the ball one at a time.”

Harry stood with him until the boy threw the ball to someone about twenty yards away. The ball spiraled perfectly through the air and landed in his partner’s waiting hands.

“That’s it!” Harry cheered. “You did it!”

The boy looked very proud of himself and got ready to catch the ball that would soon be thrown to him.

Louis smiled at Harry’s interaction with the younger player. He was very kind and nurturing, clearly wanting the boy to understand what he was trying to say and improve his throw.

Harry glanced over and saw Louis standing there. He made a signal to one of his teammates before running over.

“You came,” he said, pulling Louis into a hug.

“Of course I came. Why wouldn’t I?” Louis replied, his voice muffled as he spoke into Harry’s shoulder.

“I don’t know.” Harry released Louis and just smiled at him. “I’m glad you’re here. We should be done in like, five minutes, and then we get a ten-minute break.”

“Yeah, that’s cool. Don’t stress about it. I’ve got all day. And then we can get water ice after?”

“Yes! I can’t wait.”

“Cool. All right, coach, get back to your kids.”

Harry winked, then he returned to the players he was helping. Louis watched him as he helped them adjust their grip on the ball and stand up straighter. He demonstrated for a few of them, allowing Louis to admire his perfect stance, how he bounced a little on his feet and the way his torso twisted as the ball left his hand.

Harry was truly beautiful to watch, Louis realized, his determination and dedication to his sports taking his breath away.

God, he was so far gone.

A few minutes later, an announcement came on, saying that this session was over and that the next one would begin in ten minutes.

“So what do you think?” Harry asked, walking over to Louis.

Louis looked behind him and, seeing that Harry’s teammates were either heading off the field for a bathroom break or having conversations amongst themselves, he quickly pecked Harry on the lips.

Harry grinned. “That good, huh?”

“You’re really good with the boys,” Louis said. “It’s really sweet.”

“Thanks. I mean, it’s the fourth one I’ve done, second as the quarterback. And it’s fun. I think the coach said before this session started that we were on the way to beating the amount of money we raised last year.”

“Harry, that’s awesome!”

“Thanks. I mean, I couldn’t have done it without all of the guys, though. Seriously, it was such a team effort and they did so much promotion for it and have worked so hard all year. It’s not just me out here.”

Louis smiled proudly. “Spoken like a true quarterback.”

Harry blushed. “I guess.”

“So, since you’re quarterback… Maybe you can show me how to throw a ball?”

“I’d be honored. Hang on.”

Harry went over to the middle of their designated training area, grabbed a football and came back.

“OK, so you want to stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart, and a slight bend in your knees,” Harry instructed.

Louis got into the pose and looked at Harry for confirmation.

“Looks good. Now, I usually hold the ball like this.”

Harry placed the ball in Louis’ hand and moved his hand so that his ring and pinky fingers were on the laces of the ball and his index finger was near the tip of the ball.

“And you don’t want to grip the ball too hard,” Harry continued. “Make sure there’s a little bit of space between your palm and the ball. You want to be holding it mostly with your fingertips.”

“This is a lot of work,” Louis grumbled.

“Shut up.”

“Ooh, someone’s a little feisty.”

“Yeah, where do you think I learned that from?”

“Not sure. Anyway, what do I do next?”

“OK, so your right arm should be a little bit lower than your left, since you’re throwing with that hand. Your entire body should be facing the side, and only your head looking ahead. When you pull your arm back to throw, keep it bent at a ninety-degree angle.”

“Can I throw it yet?”

“Shut up. We’re getting there. When you’re ready to throw, you step forward with your front foot and as you twist, you shift all of your weight into that foot, and the back foot comes up a bit.”

“Like this?”

Louis did as Harry instructed, and pretended to throw the ball.

“That’s good. And when you actually throw, you almost want your fingers to come off it one at a time. Also, aim your hand at your target. It’s like we learned for basketball in gym class: you want to follow through on your shot, otherwise it’s gonna go flying in a random direction.”

“Fine, whatever. Can I go?” Louis whined.

“OK, sure.” Harry backed up about ten yards and held up his hands. “Throw it here.”

Louis bounced a bit, trying to remember all of the shit Harry had told him. He wound up and threw the ball. It went all wobbly in the air, but at least made it to Harry.

“Good first try.”

“What the hell did I do wrong?” Louis asked.

“Hang on.” Harry stood behind Louis and put his hands on his waist. “You want to face this way before you start.”

Louis’ breath hitched, but he tried to stay focused.

“And your back shoulder was a little high.” Harry put his hand on Louis’ shoulder and moved it down about an inch. Then he put the ball back in Louis’ hand. This time, he adjusted Louis’ fingers more, letting his own fingers drag across Louis’ skin. When he was done, he asked, “How’s that?”

“Fine.”

“You want to make this motion when you’re throwing.” Harry reached around Louis and took hold of his wrist. He placed his arm in front of his chest and pulled it back, keeping his arm bent at the elbow. Then he showed Louis the way to throw it at his target, following through on the release. “Like that.”

“OK.”

“Let’s try again.”

Harry ran back to where he was before, unaware of the effect he was having on Louis.

Louis checked how he was standing, and found that it was the position that Harry had put him in. Then he moved his arm in the same motion that Harry had just done, releasing the ball like he was supposed to. He watched in shock as the ball spiraled through the air, and went right into Harry’s hands.

“You did it!” Harry yelled. He ran back over to where Louis was. “That was awesome.”

“Thanks.”

“You OK? You look a little hot.”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Louis said. “Just gonna need a lot of water ice after this.”

“Why?”

“Might be a little heated after that demonstration.” And then Louis winked.

“Oh.” Harry understood now what that meant. “Wow. Well, now I’m really glad I get to pay today.”

“Trust me, you’re definitely paying today.”

“Hey, quick question. Can I just kiss you whenever I want now?”

“Hmmm… I guess that would be fine.”

“Good.”

As Harry leaned down to kiss Louis again, neither boy could believe his luck. What a difference two weeks could make.

**Author's Note:**

> I really hope you liked it! I got all of my information here:  
> How to throw a football - [WikiHow](http://www.wikihow.com/Throw-a-Spiral)/[YouTube](https://youtu.be/axcuiUFzlY8?t=4m)  
> How to practice hurdles: [YouTube](https://youtu.be/l-TBOgoqClg)  
> If you enjoyed the story, leave me Kudos and Comments! And maybe reblog this [post](http://flamboyantommo.tumblr.com/post/160963889012) I made?  
> Thank you for reading! =)  
> Hit me up on [twitter](http://twitter.com/angelique_lee) or [tumblr](http://www.flamboyantommo.tumblr.com/) if you feel like it! If you follow me on either, let me know who you are so I definitely follow you back!  
> <3


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